Community Service

My community service was an amazing opportunity for me. I was touched by these people when we got there on how they accepted us to work with them without any hesitation though we were totally stranger. It taught me new things such as working with a diverse group of people and sharing experience of gardening.

I admired the way these people build their garden together. I enjoyed helping them in building their garden beds. I saw them excited to start setting their seeds and seedlings in their new garden beds. I learned from them how to work in harmony with others, and I felt great doing something in the community. Working together with my classmates and teachers was very good that I will not forget.

Also, It was a way of socializing to other people, establishing a good relationship in the community. I met new people from El Salvador with whom I'm in touch now.

Sometimes, in our society, we think that the only needy people are lazy people, but this stereotype is not necessarily true. I think that community service is important to a more constructive and effective life. I would like to do community service again.

IMMIGRATION

There are a lot of illegal immigrants living and working in the United States.

Most Americans are in favor of strong punitive measures to prevent and reduce illegal immigration. However,business leaders, policity experts, and politicians have proposed amnesty programs and other measure that will not cut off that they call a necessary flow of labor into the United States.

The 30 days TV show is a good example of how illegal immigrants are living in the United States. While I was watching the episode, I tried to understand Frank's position. He was right in trying to protect the US border because he came to the United States legally, and his patriotism is admirable. However, I think we are often realistic and require to other to do the same thing like him because we have never experienced the extreme poverty as Gonzalez family. I was glad that Frank changed his position after have lived with them.

In my opinion, immigration should be regulated in the United States because undocumented have no workplace protection and are vulnerable to explotation or abuse. Some of them work and pay taxes, but they perceive very little income for their job.

I am in favor that people who are living and working for a better life like the Gonzalez family receive amnesty.

Are You a Democrat or a Republican?

I am a Democrat.

I believe in the value of freedom to follow my own conscience. People should save their rigth to follow their own beliefs. A Democratic party preserves this freedom.

Also, the Democrats want the state to have more power and the Federal government to have as little as necessary.

Unlike, the Republicans want as little government as possible. They expect everybody to take care of their own needs, but the problem is that many people have not way to take care of their own needs .However, I admire the sense of personal responsability of the Republicans.

It is the result of my quiz. I found it very helpful because I could clarify my position.

My experience at SLU

Hello! I would like to share with you my experience at SLU.

Since I came to St Louis, my view of the United States has changed a lot because I have the opportunity lo live with Americans sisters. However, as you know, it was not easybecause we have in deep desire to maintain our own culture.

My first week of school at SLU reminded me other experiences living with sisters who speak Portuguese in my country. At that time, I could continue speaking the two official languages of my country( guarani and Spanish), and I only spoke Portuguese to socialize with them. Now I can understand how hard it is when you cannot understand your classmate native language. That was what happened with me when I heard people speaking in Chinese, and I knew how important is it to try to speak the language of the country where you live. Otherwise, you may harm other or simply it is difficult to work in group.

I'm learning much in our Exploring culture class. It helps me to understand better American Culture. When I heard people say I'm American it sounded very strange to me, and I thought it as an expression of superiority, but I learned in class that the English language has no adjetive for United States and therefore uses the term American to refer to its people. Also, I learned what means American Dream, Traditional American Values and Beliefs, and The Frontier Heritage.

I love history, and I admire American's optimism.

Thank you.

Folk Hero

In this opportunity, I would like introduce you two Folk Heroes: Daniel Boone( United States) and Augusto Roa Bastos( Paraguay), information from Wikipedia.

Daniel Boone was an American pioner and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He is famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now United States of Kentucky. In Kentucky he founded one of the first English-speaking settlements. Before the end of the 18th century, more than 200.000 people entered Kentucky by following the route marked by Boone. In United States, he is remembered as one of the foremost early frontiers men.

Augusto Roa Bastos was a noted Paraguayan novelist and short story writer. He was one of the most important Latin American writers of the 20th century. He fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia. He is best known for his complex novel, I, The Supreme. This book was writen as a sign of protest against Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Strossner who governed Paraguay for 35 years. He got the most prestigious prize of Spanish literature. Roa Bastos life and writring were marked by military dictators. He was forced into exile in others countries for long time.

Daniel Boone and Roa Bastos were two Folk Heroes who lived in two different cultures and realities. Both struggled for a great ideal in the history of their countries. I admire these two folk heroes for their bravery and courage. They were examples of perseverance. I believe that anyone who has a great ideal for the common good, can become hero in today's world.

Rule of Religion in American Life

I interviewed an American woman who shared about the role of religion in her life. She said that Religion is one of the most important aspect of her life because it gives clear direction to behave in daily life. She is Catholic since she was a baby. She says mass at least once a week. She believes that the church should express its views on political matters. She considers herself not as conservative. However, she won't never allow something different from the Bible. She believes that same sex couples and abortions are against God's will.

She said: United States is a Christian nation, but I believe that too much time is wasted by Christians arguing about religion and denominations.

Finally, she said: Christians should give examples of unity to the Nation for the common good.

What is the American Dream?

According to the article on internet http:www.gisegeek.com/ the term dream has more more of one meaning to American. For many people to have a home, a car and a family are their dreams. For others, the American dream has become the pursuit of material prosperity .Yet others look forward a new dream with less focus on financial gain and more emphasis on living a simple life. In the past, the United States has been viewed as the land of opportunity and most people focused their dreams on owning land and establishing prosperous businesses for their family happiness.

People who believe in the American dream thought that everything is possible througth hard work because dreaming represents the desire of living better. Some people incorporated ideals of religious freedom into their American dreams. The idealist vision of the American dream assumes that people are not discriminated against their race, religion, gender and national origin. Even though these are not entirely true in real life, people believe that as part of the American dream and those are important.